The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester

Jordan Sun, Chief Innovation Officer for the City of San Jose, CA joins the show to talk about how he ended up in government and what it’s like supporting citizens in the heart of Silicon Valley. We also discuss his work with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan supporting crisis response in the face of Taliban and ISIS attacks, how data is allowing him to personalize his service interactions with citizen...

Pavan Pidugu, Chief Technology Officer for the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration joins the show to talk about how data is changing the landscape of his organization. We also discuss his experience joining the government during the pandemic after leaving an executive role at Wal-Mart, how his background in CX has helped him in his current role, and what his...

Dovarius Peoples, Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers joins the show to discuss how he is helping his organization become more data-driven through cloud modernization. We also discuss the cybersecurity challenges he faces in the role as the Corps adopts zero trust, how he manages the information needs of such a diverse, multi-theater organization, and how IoT is supportin...

Youssef Kalad, former Director of Smart Cities for the State of New York & Program Director for NYCx joins the show to discuss how governments can more effectively leverage technology to support their citizen. We also explore the rise in cyber considerations IoT and digital services and how governments are navigating these challenges.

Marc Hausman, CEO of Strategic Communications Group joins the show to discuss some of the key pillars of thought leadership campaigns when targeting government buyers that are more “enlightened” than ever before. We also explore some of the ways to deploy successful agency based marketing campaigns to the public sector, the best types of assets marketers should be prioritizing right now, and what...

Aidan Feldman, Director of Technology for the Technology Transformation Service at GSA joins the show to discuss how his team is support the digital maturity of the U.S. Federal Government through emerging technology adoption. We also explore the role digital equity plays in his strategy, ways TTS is using data to drive modernization, and why how service design needs to be at the heart of governme...

Laila Al Hadhrami, head of the national smart cities program from the Government of Oman joins the show to discuss how her smart city strategy impacts the overall Oman Vision 2040 agenda. We also explore ways that Hong Kong and other global cities have inspired their strategy, how security and AI impacts their IoT and data ecosystem, and what she sees as the future of smart cities globally.

Oswaldo Mestre Jr., Chief Service Officer for the City of Buffalo, NY joins the show to discuss how the pandemic impacted citizen service delivery in the new normal. We also explore how he is looking to prioritize resilience as he builds out his future CX strategies, what collaboration looks like with his CIO and CTO at City Hall, and how data is playing a pivotal role in bringing inclusion and di...

Leif Babin, former U.S. Navy Seal and the author of the best-selling book, “Extreme Ownership” joins the show to discuss the importance of leadership to public and private sector organizations. We also explore how to leverage ‘The Laws of Combat’ and a ‘Mindset for Victory’ while balancing potential leadership dichotomies, plus tactical ways to implement some of these principles into your own orga...

Ayushi Roy, a Fellow at the New America Foundation and Director, State & Local Technology at 18F joins the show to discuss how technology is supporting digital equity in citizen service deployment. We also discuss how governments are prioritizing CX, where organizational leadership should focus when deploying a digital transformation strategy, and lessons she has learned throughout the pandemic.

Dr. Lynda Davis, former Chief Experience Officer for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs joins the show to discuss some of her strategies and priorities as she rolled out CX programs for her stakeholders. We also discuss how the CX landscape is shifting, some of her predictions moving forward, and how the pandemic drove a focus on digital equity in her department.

Stevan Bernard, former Chief Security Officer at Sony Pictures Entertainment joins the show to take us behind the scenes of the infamous nation-state attack perpetrated by North Korea in 2014. We also discuss the pervasiveness of ransomware attacks in the public sector, ways governments can mitigate future attacks, and what the cyber battlefield looks like in the post-SolarWinds era.

Hannah Hunt, Chief Innovation and Product Officer for the Army Futures Command, and a recent Forbes 30 Under 30 award recipient joins the show to discuss how the US Army is driving digital transformation efforts through internal software development. We also discuss her role at the US Air Force as Chief of Staff for their Kessel Run program, how digital transformation is changing the landscape of...

Austin Collie, former NFL wide receiver and current business development executive at JOLT Advantage Group joins the show to discuss what playing in the NFL taught him about becoming better in his role as an IT professional. We also discuss why RPA is bringing so much value to enterprise organizations, his secret to learning complex playbooks, and gives listeners a first-hand glimpse at what it is...

Matt Donovan, Senior Vice President for Government at Merritt Group joins the show to discuss the importance of developing agency-based marketing programs as part of your GTM strategy. We also discuss tactical steps to begin to building your messaging platform, new digital marketing technologies in the market you can take advantage of today, and best practices in delivering strategic value to your...

Jim Walker, Federal Chief Technology Officer at UiPath and former Deputy Chief Information Officer at NASA joins the show to discuss the evolution of robotic process automation in government. We also discuss the many ways that RPA has been vital to the public sector’s shift to a hybrid work environment, how the technology is supporting the future of work, and how it has become an important tool in...

Brent Messer, Chief Information Officer for the City of Chattanooga joins the show to discuss the city’s selection into the G20 Global Smart Cities program. We also discuss their move to completely remove paper from their enterprise environment and what he went through when the pandemic first kicked-off.

Jonathan Alboum, Federal CTO at ServiceNow, and Former CIO at the Department of Agriculture joins the show to discuss the value low-code technology can bring to the public sector. We also discuss what government CIO’s are currently thinking as they enter a new normal and insights from his extensive career in the public sector.

Jaimie Boyd, Chief Digital Officer for the Government of British Columbia joins the show to discuss the core technology principles that were developed to support the digital transformation evolution of her province. We also discuss the importance of the open data provided by governments around the globe to catalyze innovation and her advice for women in the technology space looking to advance in t...

Sandy Carter, VP of Global Public Sector Partners and Programs joins the show to discuss the value that cloud is bringing to governments around the World, and how AWS’ partners are helping to fuel that acceleration. We also discuss the increased adoption of IoT in government, her role in paving the way for Women in Tech, and her thoughts on what’s next for AWS with the departure of CEO Andy Jassy.

Dave Wennergren, CEO of ACT-IAC and former CIO for the US Navy joins the show to discuss trends and predictions for government IT modernization in 2021. We also discuss the perspective of a government CIO, focus areas for ACT-IAC in the new normal and his thoughts about the future of acquisition innovation.

Lawrence Eta, Chief Technology Officer for the City of Toronto joins the show to discuss how his background as an immigrant has shaped the way he views citizen service delivery and made him a respected technology thought leader around the World. We also talk about how he supported the pivot of Canada’s largest city during the pandemic through technology, the key principles he aligns his technology...

Andy Teichholz, Head of Industry Strategy for Compliance and Legal at OpenText joins the show to discuss some of the regulatory directives most critically impacting the public and private sector organizations around the World, and why you need to know about them. We also talk about some of his 2021 trends for compliance driving digital innovation in government and best ways to align your strategy...

Chris Traylor and Tom Chapin join the show for the 1st Annual Holiday Episode as we discuss the human capital issues most critically impacting the governments ability to recruit and retail the next-generation workforce. We also deliberate how the future of work impacts recruitment and we share our top holiday films of all-time.

Lt. Cmdr Guy Snodgrass, former TOP GUN pilot and instructor, and chief speechwriter for the Secretary of Defense joins the show to talk to us about how lessons he learned in the cockpit translate to the business world. He also shares some stories from his flying career, discusses his role serving as speechwriter for General James Mattis, and what he thinks is happening in the Pentagon right now.